Monstrous Fantasies

Monstrous Fantasies

Author: Leila K. Norako

Publisher: Cornell University Press

Published: 2024-08-15

Total Pages: 342

ISBN-13: 1501776320

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Monstrous Fantasies asks why medieval romances reimagining the crusades ending in a Christian victory circulated in England with such abundance after the 1291 Muslim reconquest of Acre, the last of the Latin crusader states in the Holy Land, and what these texts reveal about the cultural anxieties of late medieval England. Leila K. Norako highlights the impact that the Ottoman victory and subsequent massacre of Christian prisoners at the battle of Nicopolis in 1396 had on intensifying the popularity of what she calls recovery romance. These two episodes inspired a sense of urgency over the fate of the Holy Land and of Latin Christendom itself, resulting in the proliferation of romances in which crusading English kings like Richard I and anachronistic legends like King Arthur not only reconquered Jerusalem but committed genocidal violence against the Muslims. These romances, which—as Norako argues—also influenced Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, conjure fantasies of an ascendant global Christendom by rehearsing acts of conquest and cultural annihilation that were impossible to realize in the late Middle Ages. Emphasizing the tension in these texts between nostalgia and anticipation that fuels their narrative momentum, Monstrous Fantasies also explores how the cultural desires for European and Christian hegemony that recovery romances versified were revived in the wake of the so-called wars on terror in the twenty-first century in such films as Kingdom of Heaven and American Sniper.


Servant of a Dark God

Servant of a Dark God

Author: John Brown

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2010-11-02

Total Pages: 628

ISBN-13: 9780765362308

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The launch of a towering new fantasy series introduces an elaborate new world, a strange and dark system of magic, and a cast of compelling characters and monsters.


European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman

European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman

Author: Theodora Goss

Publisher: S&S/Saga Press

Published: 2019-04-09

Total Pages: 736

ISBN-13: 1481466542

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In the sequel to the Nebula finalist The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter, Mary Jekyll and the rest of the daughters of mad scientists from literature embark on a madcap adventure across Europe to rescue another monstrous girl and stop the Alchemical Society’s nefarious plans once and for all. Mary Jekyll’s life has been peaceful since she helped Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson solve the Whitechapel Murders. Beatrice Rappaccini, Catherine Moreau, Justine Frankenstein, and Mary’s sister Diana Hyde have settled into the Jekyll household in London, and although they sometimes quarrel, the members of the Athena Club get along as well as any five young women with very different personalities. At least they can always rely on Mrs. Poole. But when Mary receives a telegram that Lucinda Van Helsing has been kidnapped, the Athena Club must travel to the Austro-Hungarian Empire to rescue yet another young woman who has been subjected to horrific experimentation. Where is Lucinda, and what has Professor Van Helsing been doing to his daughter? Can Mary, Diana, Beatrice, and Justine reach her in time? Racing against the clock to save Lucinda from certain doom, the Athena Club embarks on a madcap journey across Europe. From Paris to Vienna to Budapest, Mary and her friends must make new allies, face old enemies, and finally confront the fearsome, secretive Alchemical Society. It’s time for these monstrous gentlewomen to overcome the past and create their own destinies.


Monstrous

Monstrous

Author: MarcyKate Connolly

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2015-02-10

Total Pages: 275

ISBN-13: 006227273X

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Reminiscent of Frankenstein and tales by the Brothers Grimm, this debut novel stands out as a compelling, original story that has the feel of a classic. The city of Bryre suffers under the magic of an evil wizard. Because of his curse, girls sicken and disappear without a trace, and all live in fear. No one is allowed outside after dark. Night is when Kymera comes to the city, with a cloak disguising her wings, the bolts in her neck, and her spiky tail. Her mission is to rescue the girls of Bryre. Despite Kym's caution in going secretively, a boy named Ren sees and befriends her . . . but what he knows will change her world forever.


Monstrous Beauty

Monstrous Beauty

Author: Elizabeth Fama

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

Published: 2012-09-04

Total Pages: 303

ISBN-13: 1429955465

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Fierce, seductive mermaid Syrenka falls in love with Ezra, a young naturalist. When she abandons her life underwater for a chance at happiness on land, she is unaware that this decision comes with horrific and deadly consequences. Almost one hundred forty years later, seventeen-year-old Hester meets a mysterious stranger named Ezra and feels overwhelmingly, inexplicably drawn to him. For generations, love has resulted in death for the women in her family. Is it an undiagnosed genetic defect . . . or a curse? With Ezra's help, Hester investigates her family's strange, sad history. The answers she seeks are waiting in the graveyard, the crypt, and at the bottom of the ocean - but powerful forces will do anything to keep her from uncovering her connection to Syrenka and to the tragedy of so long ago.


A Gathering of Ravens

A Gathering of Ravens

Author: Scott Oden

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2017-06-29

Total Pages: 480

ISBN-13: 1409031691

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Beowulf meets The Lord of the Rings meets Bernard Cornwell in an epic novel of vengeance, faith and the power of myth. To the Danes, he is skraelingr; to the English, he is orcnéas; to the Irish, he is fomoraig. He is Corpse-maker and Life-quencher, the Bringer of Night, the Son of the Wolf and Brother of the Serpent. He is Grimnir, and he is the last of his kind—the last in a long line of monsters who have plagued humanity since the Elder Days. Drawn from his lair by a thirst for vengeance against the Dane who slew his brother, Grimnir emerges into a world that’s changed. A new faith has arisen. The Old Ways are dying, and their followers retreating into the shadows; even still, Grimnir’s vengeance cannot be denied. Taking a young Christian hostage to be his guide, Grimnir embarks on a journey that takes him from the hinterlands of Denmark, where the wisdom of the ancient dwarves has given way to madness, to the war-torn heart of southern England, where the spirits of the land make violence on one another. And thence to the green shores of Ireland and the Viking stronghold of Dubhlinn, where his enemy awaits. But, unless Grimnir can set aside his hatreds, his dream of retribution will come to nothing. For Dubhlinn is set to be the site of a reckoning—the Old Ways versus the New—and Grimnir, the last of his kind left to plague mankind, must choose: stand with the Christian King of Ireland and see his vengeance done or stand against him and see it slip away?


A Monster Calls

A Monster Calls

Author: Patrick Ness

Publisher: Thorndike Striving Reader

Published: 2020-04

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9781432875831

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Large Print�s increased font size and wider line spacing maximizes reading legibility, and has been proven to advance comprehension, improve fluency, reduce eye fatigue, and boost engagement in young readers of all abilities, especially struggling, reluctant, and striving readers.


Monstrous Design

Monstrous Design

Author: Kat Dunn

Publisher: Zephyr

Published: 2021-06-10

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781789543681

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With swashbuckling, super-fast paced action and own voices queer romance, The Battalion of the Dead return in a dazzling new adventure, set amid the opulence and squalor of 18th-century London and Paris. 1794, London: where luxury and squalor rub shoulders and men of science conspire to raise the dead and make monsters. From the glamorous excesses of the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens to the city's seedy underbelly, Camille continues her search for Olympe de l'Aubespine - the girl born of magic and mayhem. But with half the battalion trapped in Paris and a new enemy lying in wait in London, time is running out. Camille must decide how much she's willing to risk. To get what you want, how far is too far? Perfect for fans of Netflix's Shadow and Bone series.


Only a Monster

Only a Monster

Author: Vanessa Len

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2022-02-22

Total Pages: 369

ISBN-13: 0063024667

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The sweeping romance of Passenger meets the dark fantasy edge of This Savage Song in this stunning contemporary fantasy debut from Vanessa Len, where the line between monster and hero is razor thin. Don’t forget the rule. No one can know what you are. What we are. You must never tell anyone about monsters. Joan has just learned the truth: her family are monsters, with terrifying, hidden powers. And the cute boy at work isn’t just a boy: he’s a legendary monster slayer, who will do anything to destroy her family. To save herself and her family, Joan will have to do what she fears most: embrace her own monstrousness. Because in this story…she is not the hero. Dive deep into the world of Only a Monster: hidden worlds dwell in the shadows, beautiful monsters with untold powers walk among humans, and secrets are the most powerful weapon of all.


Monstrous Creatures

Monstrous Creatures

Author: Jeff VanderMeer

Publisher:

Published: 2011-03-01

Total Pages: 252

ISBN-13: 9781935738022

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An entertaining, eclectic chronicle of modern fantastical fiction, Monstrous Creatures delivers incisive commentary, reviews, and essays pertaining to permutations of the monstrous, whether it's other people's monsters, personal monsters, or monstrous thoughts. A two-time winner of the World Fantasy Award, Jeff VanderMeer is one of speculative fiction's foremost voices. For the past 20 years, he has not only written weird literary fiction translated into 20 languages, but written about it extensively, influencing the way people think about fantasy through reviews in major papers like "The Washington Post" and "The New York Times," as well as through interviews, thoughtful essays, blog posts, teaching, and guest-speaking. "Monstrous Creatures," a follow-up to his 2004 nonfiction collection "Why Should I Cut Your Throat?," collects all of his major nonfiction from the past five years, including such controversial pieces as "The Romantic Underground," "The Triumph of the Good," and "The Language of Defeat." Interviews with writers like Margo Lanagan and China Mi ville are an added bonus, creating a dialogue with VanderMeer's own interpretations of the monstrous in the fantastical.